UFO. United States

New York, New York, TIMES, 28 July 1952, pages 1 & 5

'OBJECTS' OUTSTRIP JETS OVER CAPITAL
Spotted Second Time in Week by Radar, but Interceptors Fail to Make Contact
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, July 27 - The Air Force said today that jet fighter planes had made an effort to intercept unknown object in the sky over Washington last night after the objects had been spotted by radar, but that no direct contact had been made.

It was the second time within a week that unidentified objects had been observed in the vicinity of the nation's capital, but no planes were sent up on the previous occasion, last Monday.

The Air Force said that at 9:08 o'clock, Eastern dylight time, last night the Air Route Traffic Control Center, operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, had picked up by radar "between four and twelve unidentified objects over the Washington vicinity."

The C. A. A. notified the Air Force and two jet fighter-interceptor planes were ordered up to make a check. These planes came from a base at New Castle, Del., about ninety miles from Washington.

The jet planes themselves appeared on the C. A. A. radarscope at 11:25 P. M. and were guided in on several of the unknown objects.

The Air Force said in its statement: "One of the jet pilots reported sighting four lights in front, approximately ten miles and slightly above him, but he reported he had no apparent closing [over-taking] speed. They disappeared before he could overtake them."

The sighting of the unidentified objects in the sky by radar indicated that something with substance was involved, not just light. Radar, which detects objects by radio, can "pick up" such things as cloud formations.

The Air Route Traffic Control Center made several further attempts through its radar observation of the unidentified objects to guide the jets to a contact. The efforts were unsuccessful, the Air Force said, until about 11:49 P. M., when the same pilot who had reported the first visual contact again reported sighting what he described as "a steady white light." The light disappeared within a matter of one minute, the Air Force said.

The C. A. A. radar operator at the traffic control center, located at the Washington National Airport, calculated the unknown object's position at about ten miles east of Mount Vernon, Va., which is near the airport.

The two jets left the area at 1:40 this morning, but two additional jet aircraft were sent over and they stayed in the vicinity for forty minutes.

The Air Force said that no further contact, either visual or by radar, had been made by the planes, although the "unidentified objects" were still apparent at 2:20 A. M. on the radarscope.

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Object Over Iowa Called Planet

IOWA CITY, Iowa, July 27 (AP) - An astronomer at the State University of Iowa reported today that a spark-shooting object seen in the sky by southeast Iowans "most likely was the planet Jupiter."

The astronomer, Prof. C. C. Wylie, head of the university's astronomy department, said he had seen the planet about 1:30 A. M. today after having been notified by the Iowa City Police Department.

"I was told they'd had reports of something in the sky," Professor Wylie said, "and what I saw was Jupiter, which at this time of year is quite bright and rises about 1 A. M.

"I assume that some of the other reports referred to Jupiter too, although it is possible some people saw another star or even a meteor."

The Fort Madison police had reports of flying objects that shot off fire and bobbed up and down in circles. A highway patrolman in the Fort Madison area said the object "looked like a star at first" and was shooting off blue and red lights, going in circles."

Professor Wylie said that Jupiter, or any star, when rising above the horizon, would appear to be shooting off multicolored sparks.